| 076 | Air Quality | 2009-04-29 |
The American Lung Association State of the Air 2009 was released today. The county in which I live and most of the surrounding counties were all graded with a big fat "F" for air quality. Having gone to school, I know that an F, means failing. We did not pass, we failed. We are basically breathing bad air.
Unless my reasoning is flawed (which is a possibility due to the poor air quality) the findings mean we are not doing it right. In the region where we live we do not have weather inversions, huge industrial plants, or temperature extremes. We really do not have any good excuses for the air quality or lack thereof. Our lifestyles are the cause of our problem.
Some folks would argue that their is no problem with our air. They deny the problem because they are not directly affected by the consequences, yet. They breathe the air filling their lungs and allowing them to live - so the air must be good enough. Choosing to live in the moment ignores the consequences of the choices. Air quality becomes someone else’s problem. For these folks, I am afraid laws will have to be enacted to make them change their ways.
For the rest of us, how do we change so we can do it right? We need to simply examine our lives and lifestyles. Decide how we are wasting and how we can live smaller. Then we need to revisit the plan often to look for other ways that perhaps once seemed impossible but now have become possible. We don’t need it all, but we do need clean air.
links - http://www.lungusa.org/